Raven Can Be A Real Witch Sometimes
by The Brod Road
Summary: Pardon my timing on posting this one. It's my Halloween 2013 story that I had previously uploaded to DeviantArt. Just thought I'd post it here. Anyways, summary: Raven needs a costume for a Halloween party. An idea for one comes from an unexpected source. Obviously BB/Rae.


Author's Note: Just a random BB/Rae plot bunny. Takes place post-series, including Tokyo, but not a future fic. More like just a year later.

I had uploaded this to DeviantArt around Halloween 2013, but I decided to post it here on FF dot Net to see what you all think of it. I hope you all enjoy and that you don't mind the fact that I'm posting this at a time that's not even close to Halloween.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any series that gets mentioned here.

October 25, A GameStop in Jump City, 6 Days before Halloween…

THUD!

The plump body of Control Freak hit the ground, shivering and muttering in fear about 'the dark side'. To four out of the five Teen Titans who stood nearby, they could only shake their heads as if saying 'you shouldn't have done that'. The fifth could only glare as her four red eyes slowly merged back to her normal violet two as she shrunk back to her normal height. It was obvious what happened: Control Freak had said something that triggered Raven's Rage.

Thankfully, since the time the Titans had fought and defeated Trigon, the empath had found it to be easier to control and even express her emotions. Of course, she had her 'moments', such as right now. But on the other hand, it certainly wasn't smart of Control Freak to suggest that the only Halloween costume she'd be perfect for was "a slutty Elvira, working the street corners"…

"Dude…" Beast Boy started, the first one to find his nerve to speak. "Even I know that there's a line between 'just joking' and 'going too far'."

"I admit that I almost feel 'the bad' for the Control Freak." said Starfire, floating over and lightly poking the quivering mass of evil nerd as if he were some curiosity. His constant jello-like quivering combined with the thought of his constant attempts to hit on her made her reiterate "Almost…"

"The loser had it coming, Star. Stopping his criminal activity is one thing, but ya know how Raven is about her self-image…" Cyborg stepped in, picking up the rotund crimi-nerd by the shirt collar and proceeded to haul him out of the trashed GameStop. The Jump City Police were already waiting outside, having had problems with Control Freak's animated objects before the Titans arrived.

"I'm fine, Cyborg…" the Gothic empath replied in her usual monotone as she hovered over toward her friends.

"It's ok, Raven." said the reassuring leader-like voice of Robin. "Some people just have a hard time finding a good costume for Halloween."

"May I remind you that the only reason I bother with looking for one is that the Titans East Halloween Party was deemed mandatory?" Raven's cold-as-steel tone indicated to her human traffic light of a leader that he had better not press the issue. Robin got the subtle message.

But Beast Boy certainly didn't…

"Aw, c'mon, Rae… If you're having a problem thinking of a good costume, I could help ya pick one out." To his credit, the green changeling honestly meant well on his offer. Even Raven could sense that. However, unfortunately for Beast Boy, she was far too perturbed to pay attention to whether the resident mischief-maker was sincere or not…

"First, it's Raven… Second, why would I need the help of a childish nerd like you? Knowing you, you'd probably dress me up in something 'sexy'…" Raven spat, glaring venomously at him. A tendril of dark energy lashed out and clipped Beast Boy across the face, knocking him backward to the floor.

"Raven!" warned the human traffic light, as she would refer to him as for a while. Beast Boy groaned as he sat up, a red mark that was oddly shaped like Raven's right hand glowed on his cheek.

"What's wrong with being sexy, Raven? Afraid you'll get laughed at for trying?" Beast Boy pried, understandably sore. Robin facepalmed at Beast Boy's stubborn persistence. Starfire merely watched, slightly saddened by the idea of her friends fighting again.

"I fear nothing, _Garfield_…" Raven growled through clenched teeth. The nerve of that changeling… Deciding that more physical punishment wouldn't make Beast Boy learn, her body lowered toward the floor into a portal of dark energy, presumably leading back to Titans Tower.

Beast Boy gulped. Raven only used his hated first name whenever he managed to push her temper too far… Not a good start to Halloween week, considering the literal Hell that Raven could unleash upon him. He only wanted to help his crush pick out a costume… 'Me and my stupid mouth…' he thought as he followed Robin and Starfire out of the store, where Cyborg and the T-Car waited.

Back in Raven's Room, 10 minutes later…

Raven chose to meditate, needing to align her emotions (especially Rage) after the Control Freak incident. But she couldn't help but bring her thoughts back toward her mini-argument with Beast Boy. Was she afraid of being 'sexy'? No. But being a loner and being raised in the secluded way she was, she wasn't too comfortable with having a lot of attention, especially attention of the lustful kind. Besides, being a half-demon that was originally destined to usher in the Apocalypse didn't exactly leave her looks as a high priority in her mind anyway…

But still, with her somewhat-recent freedom from anything Trigon-related… She did want to celebrate with her friends and get herself a costume that she believed would make her look cool. Sure, she would've preferred just a simple low-key event with only her four dear teammates. But the Titans East just HAD TO plan a big party, invite everybody (including all the Honoraries), and somehow made it absolutely mandatory that everybody show up in costume… Damn Speedy and Kid Flash and their machismo! After all, who else on that team would tend to 'think big' about things like this?

So now that plenty of eyes would be on her (as well as on everybody else's costumes), her strict upbringing and vast knowledge was left near-useless to the question of "What costume should I wear?". She sighed as she came out of meditation. Maybe an idea would come to her within the week…

October 26, Titans Tower, 5 days before Halloween…

It was another typical morning for the Titans. The daily breakfast war between Cyborg and Beast Boy about meat vs tofu, Raven having her morning herbal tea and a waffle followed by meditation, Starfire attempting to cook something for her beloved, and Robin waking up earlier than everybody else for a solo training regiment.

As 11 o'clock rolled around, Cyborg and Beast Boy were taking turns playing through a single player game to see who could do better. The game in particular was their obvious topic of conversation.

"Booyah! Take that, green bean! My score on this level beats yours easily! Aww yeah!" bellowed the two-thirds mechanical teen as he got up, lightly tossed aside the controller toward the couch cushions, and proceeded to do a victory dance. Beast Boy's face closely resembled that of a surly gorilla, despite not even having shifted at all.

"So you controlled her better this level… I had better scores in the last 3 levels, Cy!"

"Well, statistically, you had to win some once in a while! Besides, in games or in real life, you just can't get anywhere with the ladies!" Cyborg guffawed while daring to perform The Robot.

Beast Boy grew indignant. "Dude, I can so get a date! If she were real, she'd like me!" Just after he said that, a door slid open, revealing Raven. She hovered into the room, planning on reading her book at her end of the circular couch. As usual, she paid little attention to either of the two gamers as they trash-talked and played. But that didn't mean she didn't pay attention at all…

Cyborg saved the game's progress and shut the GameStation down, all the while saying "Pfft… Yeah, right, nerd boy. If she did exist, she wouldn't go out with you. For one thing, she's strong, confident, a woman on a mission. Playful, yes. But her sense of humor is definitely stronger than yours."

"But what about that guy that kept chasing her throughout the game? He's kinda like me… Doesn't she like him?" Beast Boy knew he was grasping at straws by using that theory on Cyborg, but this was what he honestly thought. Raven sat down and opened her book, holding it so that the two arguing gamers wouldn't see her face, as per usual.

"Man, she likes pushing him around. Doesn't mean she loves him, bro. He's pretty much a comedic foil for her to unleash her wit on. But you do have a point… He is just like you." Cyborg smirked, looking thoughtful. "Yeah… You two are both…comedy relief!" he then burst out laughing again, leaving the changeling grumbling. "Hell, man, you even have someone that keeps trumping you over and over again, just like him. A certain blue-cloaked empath!" Nearby, a book was slightly lowered and an eyebrow was raised…

"Dude! No fair! I can be lovable…!" whined the shortest member of the team. Sometimes he did act his height…

With that, Cyborg walked toward the elevator, snickering. Either he was going for a drive in the T-Car or he was going to tinker with said T-Car. No matter which activity, the other four Titans sometimes thought that Cyborg spent too much time with that car…

Raven's attention had certainly been drawn when Cyborg hinted her about Beast Boy. It was indeed true, she did seem to make the green troublemaker fit for a role in a slapstick comedy show… But what were they talking about? Something about a couple of video game characters being relatable to herself and Beast Boy? 'The nonsense that the minds of video game players spew…' thought Raven, shaking her head as she raised her book the couple of inches back to where it was as she turned a page.

However, curiosity would soon get the better of her. After all, she did read a few fiction books along with her tomes of the arcane and other mystical research. She too had read of characters that reminded her of certain friends, allies, or even enemies… She always thought of video games to be mindless activities, filled with things like racing, mundane sports, or some form of fighting. But games with storytelling and characters with actual personalities…? News to Raven.

Luckily for her, Beast Boy had left, presumably to go sulk over Cyborg's latest verbal jab. Also fortunate was the fact that Robin and Starfire were absent from the Common Room, presumably on another "Earthly Activities of The Dating" as her Tamaranean friend would declare. She set her book down, got up, and went over to examine the GameStation and the nearby shelf of games in the Titans' collection. What game were they talking about?

Luck continued to be on her side as she spotted an open game case, off the shelf and left near the machine. Logic would dictate that this was the game that was currently inside the GameStation. She picked up the case and glanced at the cover. The first and obvious thing she noticed was the beautiful and quite leggy woman on the cover, wearing a very form-fitting bodysuit that left only most of her back bare in a V shape.

'Typical male's dream woman, of course…' the empath thought, rolling her eyes. However, that wasn't to say that this character didn't get some gears turning in her head. She grew slightly more curious as to Beast Boy and Cyborg's argument. Was Cyborg insinuating that Raven was similar to…this woman?

Not wanting to actually play the damn game (and thus, stoop to the level of her teammates' lack of sophistication), she was thankful for another resource she could get answers from…

Raven's Room, 15 minutes later…

After perusing Wikipedia, despite some of the aspects of the game she looked up, she got an idea. This was going to be her costume.

'This'll show Beast Boy…' she thought, a small smirk on her face as she logged off her laptop. 'Can't pick a costume, huh? Wait 'til that comedy relief sees me!'

October 27th…

On this particular day, Raven seemed to have disappeared, with the exception of meals and herbal tea. Cyborg and Starfire weren't too concerned. Raven knew how to take care of herself, after all. Robin mentally noted the unusual change in routine, like the leader that he is. Beast Boy knew that Raven was a creature of habit, though. On the inside, he worried. Was she still angry about the Control Freak incident? Or worse, was she plotting some sort of revenge against Beast Boy for pissing her off afterward?

Knowing that he'd probably be better off staying out of Raven's way, he decided to go work on his own costume…

October 29th…

Raven wasn't in any danger, but she was definitely being secretive. The other Titans came to this conclusion, but couldn't do anything about it. They tried, though… Robin and Cyborg tried to utilize the Tower's cameras to see into her room, but found that she had found and deactivated it a long time ago. Starfire, typically, tried to knock on her door and invite her to "do the Talk of the Girls". However, Raven always replied with an apologetic "No", not even opening her door.

Beast Boy was stumped, not that it was any big surprise. But he couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. She hadn't locked herself into her room completely since the Malchior incident. That fact alone bothered him. Perhaps Control Freak's words hurt her more than he thought… And so, he went to Raven's door, soon after Starfire's final attempt at girl talk.

"Raven…?" He lightly knocked.

"…"

"Raven? Umm… Are you ok?"

"Yes, Beast Boy. I'm fine…" Her monotone seemed normal enough. What was she doing?

"Anything going on in there?"

"Nothing you need to know about."

The changeling cringed. Raven was definitely still annoyed. "Listen, I'm sorry, ok? About what I said… Ya know, after Control Freak? Umm… I don't think anybody would laugh at you at all, no matter what costume ya choose… I just wanted to help you pick one out, that's all."

Raven could sense that he was feeling guilt and genuine concern, two things that she rarely sensed from the shapeshifter. He was mischievous, argumentative, and had the worst timing when it came to saying things, but she knew that he genuinely cared about her in the long run. That had to account somehow for why he'd bug her the most out of all his teammates…

"It's ok, Beast Boy… And you can relax. I'm not doing anything that I shouldn't. As for a costume… well, you don't have to worry about that. I got one…" She ended with a sly tone, one that Beast Boy wasn't sure that he liked or not.

"Umm… Cool! So, are you going to come out now?"

"No. But I will eventually."

"Aww… Alright, Rae."

"My name's Raven." Her response wasn't even a half-second after he uttered his favorite nickname for her.

Beast Boy sighed. But if it was one thing he admired about her, she was sharp. He wouldn't get much of anything past her, that's for sure!

October 31st, Titans East Tower, 8:16 p.m.

The curiosity was close to driving Beast Boy up a wall. The party had just gotten started and still no sign of Raven. Yesterday, she had went back to her usual routine (aside from the team having to deal with a minor battle against Johnny Rancid). He had asked again what she had been up to, but she would merely respond with the smallest of smirks and a light remark that his questions would be answered at the party.

Then, around noon today, she had disappeared into her room again, presumably to put on her costume. Even considering travel time from Jump City to Steel City, that was quite some time for a person to put on an outfit. It must've been something elaborate, which was odd for someone as reserved and direct as Raven…

It was even stranger when Raven messaged Robin that she'd meet them at the party. Maybe she was planning on surprising everyone? So unlike Raven… What was she planning?

Beast Boy, wearing his Master Chief armor (custom made courtesy of Cyborg), wandered over to the punch bowl in a secluded corner of the large Common Room as the spooky dance music played on. He certainly didn't want to dare steal the dancing thunder away from Robin and Starfire, who were currently at the center of attention as they danced in their matching costumes of "Patient" Robin and "Nurse" Starfire. Somehow, he just couldn't fully believe Robin when he said that Starfire had the idea for the couple costume… Cyborg (who dressed as his all-human alter ego, Stone) even dared to call Robin out on that claim, reminding the Boy Wonder that he can easily check the browser history on Robin's laptop.

Suddenly, thoughts of costumes and punch were obliterated by a very familiar ca-click noise from directly behind his head, somewhat audible over the music. He froze… He knew that sound… It couldn't be… Who would dare stick up a Teen Titan inside one of their own Towers?

"Uhh… Guys?!"

"Oh, relax, Cheshire… These babies are just part of the uniform." said a slightly-accented but VERY familiar voice. Wait… Cheshire…? 'No… It couldn't be!' he thought, wondering if something in the punch was making him delusional. He spun around fast enough to rival Kid Flash's speed.

And standing there, with a crimson, custom-made, vertically double-barreled fake pistol aimed at him was a brand new Raven. Her purple hair was done up into a topknot with long flowing red ribbons in it that went all the way down her back. She had some smart-looking glasses on, reminding him of the emoticlone known as Knowledge. Then, he looked her over.

She was wearing a very form-fitting black bodysuit made of… leather? Spandex? A mix of both? Beast Boy couldn't tell. There were two strips of said material that draped down her back off of her shoulders, like two slim wings. Her upper arms were each covered with what looked like 3 short black leather belts, closed around her arms as if they were armbands. She also wore white elbow-length gloves, each hand carrying one of the aforementioned pistols. Beast Boy noticed two more pistols acting like high heels. But not before noticing how closely her new outfit hugged her entire figure.

His mind was considered 'blown'.

"Ba…Ba…Ba-ba-ba…" he stuttered, eyes wide open and unable to look away from the very-different empath. Raven smirked, secretly considering the stunned look on Beast Boy's face as 'cute'.

"What's wrong, Cheshire? You seem to be… speechless. It's almost refreshing." Raven said in a tone that most would consider flirty (but she would later deny, of course) as she used her aimed pistol to lightly close Beast Boy's dropped jaw.

"Rae…? You… Costume… uhh…" was all that Beast Boy could muster. Raven decided to delve into his brain for a more coherent reply and sensed a mixture of emotions from her green friend. Confusion, surprise, and… was that attraction? Yep. No mistake about that...

"You… like this, huh…?" Raven asked, suddenly reverting back to her usual reserved monotone, almost as if a little shy. Timid must've had something to say. She spun around slowly to show off her outfit… He couldn't believe how good she looked front to back, the outfit showing a fair amount of grey back and how the outfit showed him exactly how her figure was shaped. ALL of her figure...

The changeling quickly nodded repeatedly, a stupefied smile growing on his face. Raven sensed even more attraction from his mind.

"Do you find this costume funny?" she asked, remembering the original purpose of the outfit.

He shook his head. "No, Rae… Nobody's gonna laugh at that. You look amazing!" He blushed after he realized he said the last part.

She smiled, a genuine full-fledged smile. "Wow… Thanks, Gar. By the way…" she said, slowly leaning in close.

"Yeah?" Beast Boy said slowly, wondering if she's doing what he thought she's doing.

Her face was mere inches away from his when she replied, the sultry tone back in her voice "My name's not Rae… Tonight, it's Raven-etta!" She then sauntered off, hips swaying, toward the dance floor. Beast Boy was left motionless and watching in awe.

Beast Boy now had a new reason why Bayonetta became his absolute favorite game.

Author's Note: Yep. Raven is Bayonetta. I thought that it would so work for her when she's in one of those rare moods where she actually wants to cut loose and be a little… mischievous. We all know she has that side of her at times, such as that one ending where she decided to "play Stankball" after Cyborg interrupted a moment between her and BB.

As for that conversation between BB and Cy, I would consider the characters Bayonetta and Luka to be similar to BB/Rae both in personalities and in their interactions with each other. Not 100% similar, of course, but similar enough. (How many times must BB be smacked around, tossed out windows, etc. before he realizes not to be so cocky around Raven? XD I mean, c'mon.)

Side note: In the game, Bayonetta always refers to Luka as "Cheshire". But whether she just uses it as a joke or, over the course of the story, comes to mean it as a sign of affection is left up to interpretation. So no, Raven was not referring to BB as the DC Comics character of the same name.

Reviews would be appreciated! Thank you.


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